Ten out of 10 for Ag Tech student
Service technician Jonathan Smith of John Deere dealer Evergreen Tractors at St Germans near Kings Lynn in Norfolk is the latest Ag Tech agricultural engineering apprentice to win a coveted City & Guilds Medal for Excellence for outstanding individual performance. The Ag Tech programme is run by John Deere and Brooksby Melton College, and supported by the Learning & Skills Council.
Jonathan became the 10th Ag Tech graduate to receive a City & Guilds Medal for Excellence award since 1996, a unique achievement in the engineering sector. He went on to win the Fox Medal from the Worshipful Company of Cutlers for the best award candidate in this sector, as well as the Allan & Newton Memorial Prize for Mechanical Engineering Craft Practice, each of which was accompanied by a cheque for £500.
Jonathan joined Evergreen Tractors full time straight from school at the age of 16, following work experience when he was 14 and then a regular Saturday job. He was one of the dealership's first two apprentices to join the Ag Tech programme, in 2002, and since graduating he has been provided with a new service vehicle for his efforts.
"I first put forward my portfolio for last year's awards, but lost out to another John Deere Ag Tech student, Oliver Rumsey of Tuckwells. I didn't want to give up though, so I tried even harder this year and was delighted to win," says Jonathan.
"The course at Brooksby was really an amazing experience, the college lecturers made us all feel very welcome, and I was fortunate to meet so many different people from all over the country. I plan to keep on learning, possibly to NVQ Level 4 next, but for now I want to get as much experience as possible and become more familiar with the full John Deere product range."
Roy Pickett of Evergreen Tractors says the Ag Tech programme has worked out very well for the branch, which currently employs six full time service technicians.
"We previously used our local college, but the quality of the training started to drop off. Having now sent two of our apprentices through the scheme, I would heartily recommend it. In particular the college's machinery lecturers Richard Trevarthen and Phil Spencer are very good, they make the training very personal and really inspire the lads on the course."
City & Guilds, the UK's leading awarding body for work related qualifications, awards 1.2 million certificates to learners each year on over 500 subjects, with only around 1 in 10,000 people receiving a Medal for Excellence, the highest recognition available.
Ag Tech was the first agricultural engineering apprentice scheme of its kind to be introduced in the UK, in 1992, and won a National Training Award at the end of 1997, the only one ever made to an agricultural machinery company. Altogether 201 apprentices have graduated through the scheme to date, covering both Ag Tech and the new Turf Tech programme for groundscare technicians, which was introduced in 2002.
